Bayou Book Junkie: Book Blast: Despite the Odds by Chris T. Kat ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Book Blast: Despite the Odds by Chris T. Kat ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book Blast: Despite the Odds by Chris T. Kat ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book Information:

Author Name: Chris T. Kat

Book Name: Despite the Odds

Series: Odds Are

Book: One

Release Date: June 3, 2015

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs

Buy The Book:

Blurb:

Never judge a book by its cover.

Michael Campbell can’t hold a job for more than a few days. He’s lucky his foreman is giving him another chance with the solar panel project at a primary school in Atlantic City. When he spies a man walking strangely in front of the school, Michael laughs, assuming he’s drunk or high. Little does he realize that Joshua Stone, a teaching assistant, has cerebral palsy, and he’s having a bad muscle control day. Taking a tumble right in front of the handsome construction worker is just his luck.

When Michael learns the truth, he feels badly for his cruel behavior. He offers to give Joshua—and his tricycle, the Racing Rhonda—a lift. Joshua accepts the help, and suddenly there’s a gorgeous man breezing into his life, turning his world upside down. But Michael has more issues than his inability to hold down a job, and neither man is sure if they’ll be able to overcome their fears in order to be together.

Pages or Words: 114 pages/32,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

Henderson bulldozed right into Michael’s personal space, surprising him with the action. “You stupid son of a bitch!”

“Hey! No calling my mother names, okay?” Michael tried to joke. He’d never seen Henderson this angry. Neither did he care to have all this anger directed at him. Sure, he could hold his own if necessary, but he was more a run-away-if-there’s-trouble kind of guy.

“Do you know who that was?”

“A drunk who shouldn’t set foot on school property?” Michael hazarded.

Henderson’s eyes narrowed to small slits when he replied, “His name is Joshua Stone, and he isn’t drunk. He’s a teaching assistant who works here.”

“He looked drunk to me.”

Henderson closed his eyes, obviously trying to rein in his temper, before he put a bit more distance between them. “Mr. Stone is disabled, hence the way he walks. It’s not always that obvious, but he was carrying books, a lot of books, which threw off his balance. He’s a very good teaching assistant. He doesn’t deserve to be laughed at by someone like you, who can’t even take care of himself.”

That stung.

Mari's Review:

*copy provided by author/publisher via Pride Promotion in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this story! It was amazing and definitely not what I expected when I read the blurb, although I guess I should have, considering the first sentence: Never judge a book by its cover.

Michael and Joshua couldn't be more different or more alike than they were, complementing the other in ways that I didn't anticipate.

Michael can't hold down a job, and contents himself with empty hook ups, as he tries to subsist. Not an easy feat considering he has several issues that he tries to keep under wraps. Once he meets Joshua, though, it's like a switch gets turned on inside him, and he starts becoming the man he always wanted to be. He's so sweet to Joshua, even if at first he made fun of him—granted, he didn't know of his condition and he more than made up for it—he gradually falls for the other man.

Joshua has cerebral palsy and after a very bad day, he falls down in front of one of the most handsome men he's ever seen. A man that thinking he's drunk makes fun of him. Definitely not good. But after Michael helps him out later in that same day and a tentative friendship is forged and then blooms into something deeper, we get to see a different, more confident side of Joshua.

It was lovely to see them each helping and supporting the other as much as they could, not letting their limitations get in the way of what they want or need to achieve. And I adored the slow blossoming romance between the two. Especially loved that Michael never pushed for more than what Joshua was willing to give. I can't wait to read the next book in this series and see what else Chris T. Kat has in store for us with them!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

About the author:
Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.Facebook Twitter Goodreads Blog Amazon Author Page

Tour Dates & Stops: June 3, 2015